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Dear
Readers,
Writers
are a restless, nosy, and distractible breed.
On top of that we often hear other people's voices
in our heads. One day a new voice began a series
of monologues in mine. Aggie Sloan-Wilcox was
new to the small Ohio town of Emerald Springs,
and she wasn't sure she wanted to be there. Not
only that, Aggie wasn't all that sure she liked
being the wife of a minister, particularly when
the most influential woman in her husband's congregation
was trying to have him fired. Add two precocious
young daughters, a drafty barn of a parsonage
and a serious identity crisis.
No
wonder Aggie was demanding to be heard.
Now,
picture me, happily at work on my Shenandoah
Album series, stand alone novels about women
in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia inspired
by traditional quilt blocks. I asked Aggie to
wait a few years, but no dice. I asked her politely
to lower her voice, but of course, she only became
more forceful. So I was faced with a decision.
Either I had to tell Aggie to take a hike once
and for all (and how does one minister's wife
abandon another?) or find a way to fit the Wilcox
family and Emerald Springs into my writing schedule.
Happily
I was able to find a way to write both series.
The Shenandoah Album series is well under
way. I just completed LOVER'S KNOT, the
third book, to be released in July 2006, and although
I once said Shenandoah Album would be a trilogy,
it turns out I was wrong. There are more titles
in the works. It's just too much fun to quit now.
But
along with Shenandoah Album for MIRA Books,
I'll also be writing a new book each year in the
Ministry is Murder series for Berkley Prime
Crime. This week I've been pleased to offer you
a peek at BLESSED IS THE BUSYBODY, available
now. Next year, look for LET THERE BE SUSPECTS.
Those
of you in the Washington DC area can join me in
celebrating the release of BLESSED IS THE BUSYBODY
at Turn
the Page bookstore in Boonsboro, MD on December
10th, from 1 to 3. I will be autographing with
Nora Roberts, Sara Gabriel and Tim Roland.
As
different as they are, I hope you'll enjoy both
series. As for me, I feel lucky that Aggie just
kept talking until I started to listen.
Happy
reading,
Emilie
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